Obama Upgrades Tunisia’s Status as a U.S. Ally

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President Obama hosted the democratically elected president of Tunisia, Beji Caid Essebsi, and announced that the country would become a “major non-NATO ally of the United States.”CreditCreditStephen Crowley/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Obama announced Thursday that he would designate Tunisia a major American ally as he encourages the North African country in its progress toward a more democratic form of government since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011.

Meeting in the Oval Office with the visiting president of Tunisia, Beji Caid Essebsi, Mr. Obama said he would give the country the status of major non-NATO ally, a distinction that brings with it a higher level of strategic cooperation already granted to friendly countries like Japan and Israel.

“I want the president and the people of Tunisia to know that the United States believes in Tunisia, is invested in its success, and will work as a steady partner for years to come,” Mr. Obama told reporters after the meeting.

The president’s decision came just a week after he met with senior officials from Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states that constitute the Gulf Cooperation Council, most of which want closer strategic ties out of fear of Iranian influence in the region, but were not given the same status now to be conferred on Tunisia. While two of the countries represented at last week’s meetings at Camp David — Bahrain and Kuwait — have such designations, Saudi Arabia and the others do not.

American officials said before the Camp David meeting that they were considering granting such status to the members of the council, but it did not happen, perhaps because some did not want it.

“That is not a designation that was sought by every member of the G.C.C. that participated in the meeting last week,” said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary.

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President Beji Caid Essebsi of Tunisia.CreditPool photo by Chip Somodevilla

For Mr. Obama, one difference is Tunisia’s efforts to build a functioning democracy, in contrast with the entrenched monarchies in the gulf.

The Arab Spring opened in Tunisia with the overthrow of a longstanding despot, and the country remains the only real bright spot from that revolutionary wave. But it is still uncertain whether Mr. Essebsi, 88, who won Tunisia’s first free and fair presidential election last December, can consolidate the gains and transform a troubled economy.

“However important the milestone that Tunisia has reached in the democratic process, we are still in midway,” Mr. Essebsi said through a translator. “We have a long way ahead of us. To reach the conclusion of the democratic system and the final consolidation of the system, there’s still a lot to be done.”

Mr. Obama nonetheless praised “excellent progress” in Tunisia.

“It is important to recognize that the place where the Arab Spring began is a place where we have seen the most extraordinary progress in allowing all parties and all parts of the population, including women and minorities, to participate fully in the civic and political life of the nation,” Mr. Obama said.

Obtaining major non-NATO ally status does not confer on Tunisia any security commitment, but it does provide greater access to things like training, loans of equipment for research and development and financing for commercial leasing of defense weaponry.

Besides Japan, Israel, Bahrain and Kuwait, countries that have this status include Argentina, Australia, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and South Korea.

Taiwan is treated as though it has the same status.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A12 of the New York edition with the headline: U.S. Elevates the Status of Tunisia as an Ally. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe